Most of the NBA will already be on hiatus on Thursday night. However, the Oklahoma City Thunder and New Orleans Pelicans have one more matter of business to tend to when they face off with one another in the Sooner State.
You'll find all of the NBA odds at BookMaker.eu for this and every game of the season.
SCHEDULING
These last couple days before the All-Star break often yield unpredictable results, and it'll be up to live bettors to see if either of these teams have already mentally checked out.
If there's an edge from a scheduling standpoint, it clearly belongs to Oklahoma City. The Thunder will be off on both Tuesday and Wednesday before this one. New Orleans, a team which was beaten by the Lakers the last time it had to play the second game of a back-to-back, has to play against Utah at home on Wednesday night before the quick turnaround in OKC.
The Pels might be 6-5 ATS in their last 11, but live bettors could easily predict a late collapse when you combine the tight schedule with the end of the first half of the season.
KEY MATCHUP
The Thunder have really done a nice job with their perimeter defense in recent games. They only allowed eight threes combined in games against Phoenix and Golden State, and that could be bad news for a New Orleans team which loves to live and die by the three when it can't get the ball down low to Anthony Davis.
Ryan Anderson had a great game the first time around when these teams met in November, as he went off for 30 points, including four threes by himself. He's coming off of a 26-point game against Minnesota, but he's also inconsistent and has far too many games where he disappears.
Even though Davis is always capable of a 30 or 40-point game, the Pels need to stay balanced on a night where they're probably going to have to reach 100 to have any chance of covering the spread. If they aren't threatening that triple-digit mark, live bettors should be ready to pounce on Oklahoma City.
KEY STATS & TRENDS
The Pelicans beat the Timberwolves on Monday, but they had failed to cover their previous five games, losing three of those five by double-digits.
Oklahoma City is just 2-7 ATS in its last nine games overall, but it's tough to bet against it in live betting with the way it's playing on offense here at home. The Thunder have scored 117, 114 and 116 in their last three home games, though it should be noted that they only covered one of those three spreads.
Russell Westbrook, who had three consecutive triple-doubles from January 29 through February 3, has averaged 25.5 points, 11.4 assists and 10.0 rebounds per game in his last eight games. That's just proof that it's going to take a lot more than a great game from him to cover the spread.
Live bettors will certainly want to watch how the rest of this team plays out around Westbrook, knowing that there will have to be more support than just Kevin Durant for the Thunder to ultimately earn the cover.
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Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The duel between the New Orleans Pelicans and the Oklahoma City Thunder will take place at Chesapeake Energy Arena on Thursday, February 11, 2016. This 8:00 p.m. ET kickoff can be seen live on TNT.
